MREIT Inc. is looking to diversify its portfolio to include retail spaces.
Kevin Tan, MREIT president, said the company aims to capitalize on the strong rebound of in-tenant sales, rental rates and occupancy rates at its Megaworld Lifestyle Malls. MREIT is the real estate investment trust arm of Megaworld Corp.,
“This strategic move provides shareholders with exposure to the strong performance of the retail sector and enhancing the company’s overall resilience and growth prospects,” said Tan at MREIT’s shareholders meeting Wednesday.
This is on top of the company’s diversification plan to “new property sites available to our sponsor, ensuring every sustainable growth and cementing our position as one of the market leaders” starting by 2030, MREIT said.
“By broadening our investment horizon into new asset types, this will ensure and we will have a balanced and diversified portfolio that can withstand various market tenants,” Tan said.
Tan said MREIT is on track of raising its portfolio to 1 million square meters (sq.m.) by 2030.
“Since our IPO (initial public offering) and lease portfolio more than doubled in size to 480,000 sq.m. and by 52 percent in value to P75 billion,” he said.
A majority of MREIT shareholders on Wednesday approved the infusion of the 157,000 sq.m. of office spaces from six office buildings located in McKinley West, Iloilo Business Park, and Davao Park District, which Tan said has average occupancy rates that are “significantly above that of the industry,” in exchange for 926.16 million MREIT shares worth P13.15 billion.
This increases the REIT’s portfolio to 480,000 sq.m.
“The acquisition is a strategic move to reach our target of 500,000 sq.m. of gross leasable area by the end of 2024,” Tan said.
